A dress fit for a princess! Naomi Watts looks stunning in lace at the Paris premiere of Diana

By Jason Chester

PUBLISHED: 19:41 EST, 6 September 2013 | UPDATED: 11:06 EST, 7 September 2013

The film has received a barrage of negative reviews since its UK premiere in London on Thursday evening.

But despite the mounting criticism aimed at new biopic Diana, its leading lady appeared to be in high-spirits when she hit the red carpet in Paris, where the much maligned film is receiving its French premiere.

Having stepped out in a stunning white gown from Marchesa that, to all intents and purposes, had distinct shades of the late Princess’s style about it, British born actress Naomi Watts was once again on form when she arrived at Cinema UGC Normandie for the first official screening of Oliver Hirshbiegel’s latest feature.

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Leading lady: Naomi Watts attends the French premiere of Diana in Paris on Friday evening

Dressed in a frilly, knee-length dress with a distinctive lace cut-out detail across the chest, the 43-year-old star cheerfully posed for photos before signing autographs for waiting fans.

Naomi accompanied the dress with a pair of glittery heels, while a tasteful clutch gave the overall look an elegant flourish.

She was joined at the event by co-stars Naveen Andrews, who plays heart and lung surgeonsurgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan, and German director Hirshbiegel. 

Looking good: Naomi catches the eye at the French premiere of Diana

Stunning: Naomi Watts looks elegant in a layered sheer white dress from Marchesa with lace cut-out detail across the chest 

Over here: Fans clamour for Naomi's attention as she hits the red carpet at the Cinema UGC Normandie in Paris

Naomi had arrived in Paris by Eurostar hours earlier with son Alexander before venturing out for a spot of shopping.

If she was troubled by the wave of terrible reviews that have followed her new film across the Channel it didn’t appear to show as she browsed local shops in central Paris during a break from her promotional duties.

The actress had previously talked about how she felt like ‘a ghost’ while filming the biopic, which charts the final few years leading up to Diana’s tragic death in 1997.

She told The Telegraph: ‘Sometimes I felt like I was watching a ghost. It’s not just the technical side of it, it’s not about a nose or hair, at least half of it is coming from within. She becomes that character – it’s in the eyes, basically.’ 

Sign your name: The Australian actress signs an autograph on Friday evening

In a string of one-star reviews the biopic has been called 'fabulously awful' and 'squirmingly embarrassing, atrocious and intrusive'.

Another critic said the much-loved Princess of Wales 'has been recast as a sad-sack singleton that even Bridget Jones would cross the street to avoid'.

The Daily Mail's critic Christopher Tookey said it was 'dire' and 'Barbara Cartland meets Hollywood'.

'It never succeeds in being moving, or even involving. It’s not even enjoyably bad,' he wrote on Friday.

 

NEW Naomi Watts and Naveen Andrews in emotional 'Diana' trailer

Standing out: The actress looks good as she attends her second premiere in as many days

A review in The Times, which gave the film one star out of five, praised Watts for 'doing her level best with a squirmingly embarrassing script' but added that 'this film is still atrocious and intrusive'.

It said the film 'bumps up romance and trivia at the expense of some serious comment about the Royal Family's control of her access to her sons, who hardly feature, and Diana's disturbed behaviour'.

Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw wrote 'poor Princess Diana'.

He continued: 'I hesitate to use the term 'car crash cinema'. But the awful truth is that, 16 years after that terrible day in 1997, she has died another awful death.

Spending spree: Naomi Watts splashed out in Paris on Friday

Shrugging it off: Naomi Watts steps out for a spot of shopping in Paris ahead of the French premiere of Diana

Someone's happy: But Naomi's new film has been savaged by critics

'This is due to an excruciatingly well-intentioned, reverential and sentimental biopic about her troubled final years, laced with bizarre cardboard dialogue - a tabloid fantasy of how famous and important people speak in private.'

In his one-star review, Mirror critic David Edwards writes that it can 'only be described as a fabulously awful film'.

He said the much-loved Queen of Hearts 'has been recast as a sad-sack singleton that even Bridget Jones would cross the street to avoid' while adding that the film is 'a cheap and cheerless effort that looks like a Channel 5 midweek matinee'.

Previously: Naomi Watts attends the London premiere of Diana on Thursday evening

The main event: Naomi arrives at the UK premiere in London's Leicester Square on Thursday night